The devil’s in the detail for Vandy’s Franklin

I have no real problem with James Franklin’s attempt at a joke when he referred to Alabama’s football coach as “Nicky Satan” at a banquet earlier this week at a Georgia high school.

But I do have a problem with one other thing:

Don’t be silly enough to suggest that you’re going to outwork Nick Saban — or any other head coach in the SEC for that matter.

That’s one of the things that makes the SEC so tough. Some coaches outrecruit others. Some coaches outthink others. Some coaches outcoach others. But nobody outworks anybody. If you snooze, you lose. And you don’t survive.

Franklin’s claim is nothing new, of course, When Gerry DiNardo touched down at Vanderbilt in 1991, he said he would outwork the other SEC coaches in order to get the Commodores up and running. It didn’t take long for DiNardo to figure out that there are only 24 hours in the day and SEC coaches don’t sleep.

Look, there is no question that Franklin has brought a work ethic and commitment to Vanderbilt football that had been lacking. He’s made major inroads in recruiting and on the field. He is finishing off what very well may be the finest recruiting haul in Commodores history.

But if he thinks success is going to spoil Nick Saban and influence him to ease off the throttle, he’s sadly mistaken.